The person Tian Mu was talking about was Queen Cheng Wen.
Logically speaking, the reason why Cheng Wen became the queen was largely because Wei Zixuan helped her secretly, so from an ordinary person's perspective, they were allies. When Shangshu Zuopushe was found to be a traitor and fell overnight, the queen should have panicked.
However, there are three unusual things about Cheng Wen that allow her to remain unwavering and outstanding even when she is at the forefront of the storm.
The first point is Cheng Wen's important family background. She is not an ordinary woman with no foundation, but the legitimate daughter of a traditional aristocratic family in the Holy Tang Dynasty. Although the power of the Zhenguo Palace is not as powerful as that of the previous generation, after all, her merits and qualifications are there, and she is connected to countless noble forces. The veins are powerful and complex.
Therefore, at most, Wei Zixuan only helped the Cheng family at a critical moment, but there was no problem of the Cheng family relying on the left prime minister.
Secondly, regardless of her appearance, intelligence, or character, Cheng Wen has been recognized by the emperor Li Bing. Her favor is growing day by day, and her position in the palace is quickly being consolidated. In other words, as the emperor's wife, she did not have to worry about the ups and downs of the foreign court as long as she did not make any clear transgressions.
The last and most critical point is that Queen Cheng Wen approached Ouyang Lin very promptly at the important moment when the Forbidden Army was about to start a secret investigation of Wei Zixuan. She cleverly and clearly expressed her loyalty to the emperor and supported the investigation, instantly drawing a clear line. He broke the boundary with Wei Zixuan and got out of the situation.
With these three points, Cheng Wen would naturally not be implicated in Wei Zixuan's case, and even became more trusted by the emperor because Ouyang Lin reported the matter to Li Bing in advance.
Tian Mu was also one of the insiders, so he knew the key points, so he proposed to try to take the Queen's route.
Gong Chengze fully agreed with this. This guy was impatient and immediately took Tian Mu to the Zhenguo Palace. They had no chance to contact the Queen directly, so they could only go through Cheng Dong and get close to Cheng Wen's backer as soon as possible.
Of course Cheng Dong, the official of Zhenguo, was well aware of the sudden visit of the Yushi doctor and the Nanzheng inspection envoy, and knew why they came: Wei Zixuan suddenly fell, and the rebel spies were involved. These two "good brothers" of the left prime minister ", is there any reason not to end the relationship immediately?
If you want to keep your official position and life, you have to find important figures who can speak for them at critical moments.
And his sister is exactly such a big shot.
Cheng Dong warmly greeted Tian Mu and Gong Chengze, led them to the living room, and seated the guests and hosts respectively. The servants successively served this year's new tea and various fruit snacks to entertain the guests.
After some polite greetings, Tian Mu looked at Gong Chengze, and Gong Chengze looked at Tian Mu. The two of them understood each other very well and stood up at the same time to salute Cheng Dong.
Cheng Dong pretended to be surprised and quickly stood up to return the gift. He also asked the two of them why they were so indifferent.
Tian Mu let out a long sigh and said sadly: "To be honest with you, our brothers are in danger this time. I beg you to save us."
Gong Chengze also nodded again and again: "Wei Zixuan is cunning, cunning, and has evil intentions, and he has made us miserable!"
Cheng Dong helped the two of them sit down again and said in a deep voice, "I have also heard about this. Is Wei Zixuan really dead?"
"He's dead, so dead." Tian Mu shook his head and said, "On the night when His Majesty ordered the imperial army to arrest him, he committed suicide in the car out of fear of crime before he even entered the palace. He was too poisonous to save him."
Cheng Dong nodded silently and suddenly said with emotion: "Well, when Li Dadu was in the imperial capital, he came to the mansion specifically to remind Cheng that Wei Zixuan might have colluded with the Jiangnan rebels and asked me not to mess with him. Together. Now it seems that what the Protector said is true."
Tian Mu and Gong Chengze were both stunned when they heard this.
Gong Chengze couldn't help but asked curiously: "So, Duke, you knew Wei Zixuan had a problem early on?"
Cheng Dong came to his senses and quickly explained: "Oh, I can't say that I knew it early on. At that time, Protector Li only suspected Wei Zixuan, but there was no evidence, so Cheng could only be suspicious. He neither dared to report it to the emperor nor could he notify him. Two brothers."
Tian Mu nodded in understanding, and then sighed: "Well, as the saying goes, it is difficult to draw a dragon or a tiger. You know the person, the face, but not the heart. After hanging out with that traitor for a long time, it is not as clear as an outsider can see clearly. Duke, no matter what, You must save us."
Cheng Dong responded: "Mr. Tian's words are serious. If there is anything I can do to help, just ask me. Cheng will do his best."
Hearing what he said, Gong Chengze couldn't help but be overjoyed and said quickly: "The Duke has said this, and our brothers are saved. To be honest, the only one who can explain it clearly to us right now is the Queen. Can you please help me, Duke? Enter the palace to ask for mercy from the empress?"
Cheng Dong smiled faintly: "General Gong's words are wrong. According to the rules of the Holy Tang Dynasty, the harem is never allowed to interfere in politics, let alone make friends with foreign ministers in the court. Aren't you afraid of having the opposite effect if you let the queen speak for you?"
Tian Mu rolled his eyes and immediately understood the meaning of Cheng Dong's words, and quickly added: "The Duke is right, we are confused. This matter should not disturb the Queen. In fact, the Duke came forward Will suffice."
Gong Chengze was also familiar with the officialdom and quickly cooperated: "Yes, yes, I am a rough guy and I only talk nonsense. Your Majesty has the trust of the emperor, so it is enough for you to say a few kind words for us in front of His Majesty." "
To be honest, Gong Chengze's flattery was a bit harsh. Tian Mu was a third-rank Imperial Censor, while he was a third-rank Middle Governor. Both of them had always been prominent imperial ministers in the court. On the other hand, Cheng Dong only held the title of Duke of Zhenguo and had no other official positions.
Which one of the two sides speaks with more weight in front of the emperor is naturally self-evident.
Now Gong Chengze is praising Cheng Dong with his eyes closed in order to find a supporter to save his life, and his villainous face is clearly revealed.
Cheng Dong seemed very free and easy, and waved his hand gently: "Thank you, General Gong. Cheng is not as capable as you said, but I can try my best to find friends from all walks of life and ask everyone to help. One, two You really don’t know Wei Zixuan’s true identity, let alone participate in his conspiracy to harm Shengtang; secondly, Mr. Tian and General Gong have always been trusted by Your Majesty and have made many contributions to the court, so they will definitely not cause any big trouble. of."
"That's very good, that's very good," Tian Mu said happily: "To be honest with the Duke, our brothers have long wanted to come to visit and listen to the Duke's advice in person. I can only hate the traitor Wei Zixuan for worrying about me and the Duke. As he got closer, he could no longer use his tricks to deceive and bewitch us, so he has not allowed us to make friends with you. Alas, now that I think about it, if I had not listened to him at the beginning, maybe I could have seen through that guy earlier. true colors."
Gong Chengze nodded and said: "That's right. Old Wei doesn't let us deal with the Cheng family, probably because he is afraid that we will see through him at a glance through the guidance of the Duke!"
Cheng Dong hugged his shoulders leisurely, watching the two people in front of him talking nonsense, with an intriguing expression on his face.
After a while, he interrupted Tian Mu and the others with a smile: "Master Tian, General Gong, we are all sensible people, and there is no need to go around in circles to test each other. May I ask you two, have you thought clearly?"
Although Cheng Dong didn't say "Think clearly about anything", Tian Mu and Gong Chengze both knew: The young Duke Zhen was asking them, have they thought clearly about changing the family?
Being an official in the government has always focused on the issue of family and faction.
No matter whether you are a civil servant or a military general, whether you are a noble or a humble family, if you want to stand firm and go far in the officialdom, you must first choose a team and fully devote yourself to it.
Whether family relatives, masters and apprentices, classmates, sworn brothers, or life-and-death acquaintances, any kind of emotional ties and interpersonal relationships can be used to form a family faction, and then support each other and take care of each other.
On the contrary, if you have no connections or factions, not only will your official career path become narrower and narrower, but you will also be easily pushed out as the scapegoat when big events happen.
And once joining the clan, no one can leave or betray easily. Otherwise, it will inevitably lead to crazy attacks and exclusion from the factions to which they belong, and the final end may be even more tragic than those officials who originally had no factions.
This is what is called forming a party.
It turned out that the left prime minister Wei Zixuan and his family were the largest family in the Holy Tang Dynasty. The governor Yin Chengyi, the imperial censor Tian Mu, and the inspector Gong Chengze were all key members of Zuo Xiang's family. In addition, there are four ministers, a dozen ministers, and no less than a hundred officials, large and small, which can be described as a huge force.
Opposite of them, there are other factions.
For example, the Princess Clan is headed by Tong Zhongshu Menxia Ping Zhangshi Li Xiuming; the Southern Army Clan is headed by Commander Ma Hongjie, veteran generals Yan Huiqing, and Mi Pei; the Zhenjiang Clan is headed by Li Jiangyao, Xu Youchang, Murong Xue, and Dong Tianxing. All represent the interests of different political groups.
Now that Wei Zixuan's conspiracy has been exposed and he committed suicide in fear of guilt, his faction faces two choices: either elect a new leader and continue to safeguard the common interests of the faction members; or disband on the spot and everyone goes their separate ways.
When Tian Mu and Gong Chengze came to ask Cheng Dong for help, the subtext behind them had the meaning of seeking refuge in a traditional noble family. In other words, they wanted to join forces with relatives led by Queen Cheng Wen.
Cheng Dong asked them if they had thought clearly, meaning: once you join, you can only serve the family wholeheartedly and loyally. There is no possibility of jumping ship halfway, and there is no regret for taking medicine.
We are all veterans in the officialdom, and for some things, only half of them are enough.
Tian Mu looked at Gong Chengze sitting next to him and nodded slightly. Gong Chengze also nodded to him, then stood up and said with cupped hands: "Mr. Zhen Guo, our brothers have already thought it through before coming. From now on, Mr. Tian and Chengze will all follow your lead, Duke Zhen. We will advance and retreat together." , sharing weal and woe!”
